I touched on some of my maps in my previous post on Navigation. But again, my collection has grown, so here's round two!

Of all my maps I think the Eastern NY All Outdoor Atlas and Field Guide is my favorite – BUT its way too large to take on hikes. So its more of a planning map. But it lists tons of trails and other outdoorsy things in Eastern New York (inluding all the High Peaks)

The maps I generally hike with are the National Geographic Topo Maps – they are awesome. They have most of the trails on them, plus they all have that waterproof coating and are tear resistant so they're perfect for most bad weather situations.

These maps were the first ones I purchased, and had I done some more research I probably would have started off with the National Geographic ones above instead. But I have these around for looking at if needed. They do cover more of the Adirondack region than then National Geographic one.

A while ago I did a post series on the top 10 Hiking Essentials and one of the dealt specifically with Navigation, where I touched on the maps I use. But now since my collection of supplies has grown I want to revisit everything! Yay. First stop my ever growing collection of books and why I like them.

I mean WOW look at them all! So heres the list:

National Audobon Society Field Guide to the Night Sky

National Audobon Society Field Guide to the Weather

The Backpackers Field Manual – Rick Curits: I like this book so much I've started to highlight it. I starts from the trip planning and covers EVERTHING and I really mean EVERYTHING!

Exploring the 46 Adirondack High Peaks – James R. Burnside: This book details out the trips they took to tackle the 46 high peaks. I love reading others experiences to this books has been a huge help in trip planning for my peaks. This along with current blogs and such.

Don't Forget the Duct Tape – Kristin Hostetter: This book discussed the ways duct tape can come in handy for hiking/backpacking/camping situations.

Views from On High – John P. Freeman: One of my adventure lists is the Fire Tower Challege. This book discussed the trials in the Adirondacks and Catskills on this challenge list.

Allen & Mike's Really Cool Backpackin' Book – Allen O'cannon & Mike Clelland: Another really fun backpacking help. My favorite part is the gret sketches in the book – seriously you need to check this out!

Hiking & Backpacking (A Trailside Guide) – Karen Berger

Basic Essentials Wilderness First Aid – William Forgey, MD: Helpful for all potential medical situations you could run into on the trail and how to “deal” with those situations.

50 Hikes in Vermont – Green Mountain Club

Adirondack Mountain Club: High Peak Trails (14th Edition): Discusses the trails for some of the high peaks and other trails in that region.

After hearing about the NE 115 we decided why stop at 46…let’s aim higher! Plus it offers us shorter options.

Our first in the Catskills to tackle, Hunter Mountain, which is also on the Fire Tower Challenge list.

Brittney signing us in!

Brittney signed us in at the register and we got started.

The trail, for the most part was wide like this. It was a smooth trip up Hunter!

When we reached the top, there’s not much of a view without climbing the tower. There were two volunteers on duty who arrived just after we did. They would be staying the day and night to be there for other hikers with any questions. They even brought brownies to share!

I decided I had to attempt this fire tower…since I chickened out on Hadley.

Just past the fire tower clearing there is an over look, so if you’re not brave enough to tackle those rickety stairs you do still get a view.

John Robb lean-to

Our trip back took longer than our trip up. But we did the loop and it was well worth it. The wooden bridge and stream were beautiful.

We decided on Black as a nice break from the challenges of the High Peaks. Just on the other side of Lake George, we hit the trail at just after 9am. After our “hot” trek up Esther and Whiteface, the cool 40 degree weather was a nice change.

Some artwork in nature and a sign just as we reached the summit that told of someone who had been buried there. The sign was too worn to read who or why…

We reached the summit at about 10:15am.

upper Lake George

a great view from the summit

the fire tower

black mountain ponds

Just on the loop trail down from the summit is a great view of Black Mountain ponds. You have to veer off the trail a little bit, but its worth it!

a lower view of black mountain ponds

round pond

lapland pond

View of Black mountain from the lapland pond loop.can you find the tower?

I am very late on posting this – actual date of hike… September 22, 2014

Personally, there’s no better way to spend your 26th birthday then hiking in the Adirondacks.

Our day started early, getting up at 5am so we could hit the road for out 2+ hour drive north by 5:45. We arrived at the Trail head just about 8am.

Brittney singing into the trail head!

We signed in to the Van Hoevenburg Trail at the Adirondack Loj to begin the day.

Trail sign at the trail head

some really cool walkways on the trail

Fall is coming!

Marcy Dam

We passed over Marcy Brook and arrived to the Marcy Dam at just about 9am.

post Irene bridge over Marcy brook

Marcy from Marcy Dam

After crossing over the dam we got a fairly good view of Marcy, but the clouds offered a little bit of a let down. So far it hadn’t rained though, which was a plus!

on the right path!

A little assurance we were on the right path. We would be going farther on than the 2.0 miles to Phelps to tackle Tabletop first!

We started on our unforgettable trek up Tabletop at about 10:40am. We felt like we were trekking up a stream, the trail maintenance worker we had met earlier that day was right, we had not picked the best day to tackle Tabletop…

the trail to the summit of Tabletop

maneuvering the ponds of Tabletop

Summit!

Summit reached at 11:59pm. The view from Tabletop was cold, wet and cloudy. We took cover with some trees and had a quick snack before heading down to the trailhead to Phelps.

The trailhead to Phelps!

The reported 1.0 mile trek up Phelps is said to be the “longest mile” of the 46 peaks. The GPS calculated this at more of 1.25 miles and we decided it was nothing compared to Marble!

The top of Phelps held some more surprises. The clouds began to break and we celebrated my birthday in style! Summit reached at about 2:33pm.

A yummy chocolate treat!

First use of my packs built-in rain cover!

Now it was time to head back down. Blue sky was in sight!

I think my favorite part is always the trek back down.

We reached the end of our trail at about 5pm. And realized I wasn’t the only one to celebrate their birthday on Phelps!

I’m a researcher, and this past weekend I spent a lovely (yet rainy) weekend camping at Moreau lake. I brought TONS of books with me! As an aspiring 46er and soon to be backpacker (I hope), theres lots of information out there to help you as you plan your hiking adventures. Here’s some things I learned from my weekend research.

Research your trip. There’s no better way to learn then from what other people have experienced. Theres LOTS of books and blogs out there about peoples experiences becoming a 46er. My favorites (these are just a few):

Make sure you have the right gear. I recently did a post series about the 10 Essentials. These are SO important to have with you. Obviously everyone is different and different hikes and length require different things. So do your own research and figure out what works best for you.

Know your limits (and the limits of those hiking with you). From experience I know what its like to almost throw up on the trail from trying to hard. SLOW DOWN. Better to take it slow and make it to the top and back, than to over exert yourself and have to turn around, or worse need serious medical attention (hard to come by in the middle of the woods.) There’s no better way to describe some techniques to prevent this than as done in Allen & Mike’s Really Cool Backpackin’ Book (Allen O’Bannon/Mike Clelland) take a look:

The first 0.9 miles of the trip is rocky and steep, but the ascent to the summit of marble only took us about an hour and a half.

View from Marble Mountain (about .9 miles from the start))

Esther Mountain from Marble Mountain

The start to the real trail!

Start to the un maintained trail to Esther

Though un maintained, the trail was very easy to follow

And Muddy!

View from the summit of Esther

The Summit

My pants were showing truly how muddy it was!

Whiteface from Esther

A selfie on Esther

Back on the trail almost to the summit of Whiteface

Still climbing!

The summit of Whiteface, Lake Placid in the background

Proof I made it!

Such a beautiful view

There were great views like this in all directions and the summit was crowded with people! After this it was all down hill… Took us about 2 hours on the return trip. We probably could have done that faster but in our excitement the night before neither of us slept well…so our return trip we (especially me) were fading fast.

The views were incredibly worth the 9.9 miles, 8 hours and 44 minutes, and rough .9 mile start to the trip!